Trademarks & Domain Names

We’re excited the 2026 Annual Meeting of the International Trademark Association (INTA) will take place from 2–6 May at ExCeL London, UK. Our London team is on hand in case you have any questions about preparing your visit to the next INTA Annual Meeting.  

In response to a preliminary question referred by the French Court of Cassation, the CJEU has clarified the principle that a trademark bearing a designer’s name may become deceptive due to its use after the designer’s departure.

The priority rule is an essential tool for EU trademark owners, since it allows applicants to obtain protection retroactively. However, a recent judgment by the EU General Court has reaffirmed that its use cannot be stretched indefinitely (at least in EU trademark law).

Is a sign consisting of a date sufficiently distinctive to be registered as a trademark in the watch and jewellery sector? In September 2025, the General Court of the European Union answered this in the negative regarding the application by watchmaker Montres Tudor SA to register ‘1926’ as a trademark right.

The ChatGPT Instant Checkout ushers in a new era of conversational commerce. Brands need to adapt their brand protection and anti-counterfeiting strategies to secure their sales in the AI era.

With the end of the transitional period for Brexit cloned trademarks fast approaching, cloned UK marks could become vulnerable to cancellation for non-use. Vanessa Harrow shares what brand owners need to know about the changes and what steps they can take to ensure their intellectual property rights remain secure, valid and enforceable.

The UK Intellectual Property Office has announced that fees across its patents, trademarks and registered designs services will rise by an average of 25% from 1 April 2026, subject to parliamentary approval.

In the recent Lost Mary UDRP case, the Czech Arbitration Court ventured a reinterpretation of the long-established Oki Data criteria. Koen de Winder recaps the basic principles of UDRP domain name disputes and the Oki Data criteria, and explores the possible implications of this latest decision.

For successful companies, growth rarely occurs by chance. Expansion requires sharp choices, market insight and the ability to turn assets – such as trademarks and technology – into competitive advantage.

The addition of a secondary element, such as ‘by’, is not enough to differentiate a mark from a well-known trademark even in a different market, as Clarisse Merdy explains in the context of a recent dispute between oil giant OMV AG and a feminine hygiene brand.

Haribo's EU trademark application for its Goldbears teddy bear was rejected by the EUIPO due to a lack of distinctiveness. Now the EU General Court has confirmed that the two-dimensional figurative trademark is too simple and too decorative to qualify for trademark protection, as Armelle Blachier explains.

Watch our webinar to hear practical insights on how to secure your commercial growth across borders through strategic use of intellectual property (IP).